diff --git a/.zshrc b/.zshrc
index a5a62c9..e38a9cb 100644
--- a/.zshrc
+++ b/.zshrc
@@ -109,6 +109,11 @@ if [ -n "$TMUX_PANE" ]; then
   hist_dir="${XDG_STATE_HOME:-${HOME}/.local/state}/zsh"
   [ -d "$hist_dir" ] || mkdir -p "$hist_dir"
   export HISTFILE="${hist_dir}/histfile.$TMUX_PANE"
+
+  # Ensure some history is defined for the pane for completion
+  [ -f "$HISTFILE" ] || cp "${HOME}/.histfile" "$HISTFILE"
+
+  # Append to history immediately, rather than waiting for the shell to exit
   setopt inc_append_history
 fi